A bride’s dream wedding day was ruined after the horse pulling the carriage she was travelling in bolted, leaving her lying injured in a road.
Sophie Clarke, 29, was with her father on her way to church to marry 36-year-old Karl Woods when the horse galloped off after being scared by traffic in the village of Blackminster, near Evesham, Worcestershire. Miss Clarke, an accountant from South Littleton, Worcestershire, suffered a bump to her head and injuries to her ankle and was taken to hospital on a stretcher just before 1pm yesterday. Miss Clarke said: “The horse just become spooked and went out of control. The driver jumped off and suddenly my dad and I were on our own, careering into the distance.
“We must have been going at least 30 miles per hour, we kept going for about another mile and a half, over a railway track, totally out of control. We really thought we were going to die.”
Seeing his daughter panic, 56-year-old Bob Clarke pushed her out of the carriage before jumping off himself.
He suffered chest pains, bruising to his elbow and a leg injury.
Both were taken to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital, leaving wedding guests at nearby St Leonard’s Church in Bretforton wondering what was happening.
The drama continued as the 60-year-old carriage driver, along with his assistant, chased after the horse but slipped and was run over by the carriage.
The driver, from Evesham, suffered grazing and was taken to hospital as a precaution. Miss Clarke had spent three years planning her wedding, had a wedding dress especially made and had booked a reception at a nearby hotel.
The couple now have re-scheduled their wedding for January.
